CENSUS: Immigration altering Canada’s language landscape; Punjabi among most common

Published: October 24, 2012

Gian Kaur, 2, was born in Canada but her first language is Punjabi. She is photographed with her mother Baljeet Kaur and her father Balpreet Singh at their home in Newmarket, Ont., on Oct. 23, 2012. Jennifer Roberts/For Postmedia News

MARK KENNEDY POSTMEDIA NEWS

OTTAWA – Canada is steadily becoming a nation of many languages, as recent waves of immigration turn the country’s main cities into a translator’s paradise.

The trend was revealed in new data from the 2011 census released by Statistics Canada Wednesday, which reported on more than 200 languages now being used in the country.

It’s far too soon to envision the demise of English or French as the country’s two dominant languages, but the figures show a rise in other languages – primarily Asian – that people speak at home.

Walk into the living rooms or kitchens of many Canadian homes these days, and you’ll increasingly hear people speaking Chinese dialects, Punjabi, Arabic, Persian, Spanish and Tagalog (a Philippine-based tongue that saw the biggest spike in use in recent years).

The census found that 6.6 million people (20 per cent of the population) said they spoke a language other than English or French at home.

Most of those (6.4 million) spoke an “immigrant” language, while 213,000 spoke an aboriginal language and 25,000 used sign language.

There were 2.1 million people who only spoke a language other than English or French at home, accounting for 6.5 per cent of the population.

By comparison, the census found 19.2 million people (58 per cent of the population) spoke only English at home, while six million spoke only French (18.2 per cent of the total.) In Quebec, where the protection of the French language is a politically explosive issue that has prompted controversial policies by the recently elected Parti Quebecois, new census figures are sure to catch the government’s attention.

The proportion of Quebecers speaking only French at home continues to decline – from 77 per cent in 2001, to 75.1 per cent in 2006, and 72.8 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, the state of bilingualism in Canada is in doubt. The number of people who can conduct a conversation in both English and French jumped by nearly 350,000 to 5.8 million.

That meant the bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from 17.4 per cent in 2006 to 17.5 per cent in 2011. But the hike is largely due to people in Quebec speaking both languages. Outside the province, the rate of bilingualism dipped slightly, by half a percentage point.

Statistics Canada said that despite the influx of immigrant languages, the country’s two “official languages” remain dominant.

English and French “exert a strong pull as languages of convergence and integration into Canadian society, especially as languages of work, education and the provision of government services to the public,” said the agency.

Indeed, the number of people speaking more than one language at home is increasing.

In 2011, 17.5 per cent of the population (5.8 million people) spoke at least two languages at home – compared to just under 4.5 million (14.2 per cent) in 2006.

Still, there is little doubt that new languages are changing Canada’s cultural landscape, and demographic experts say that’s a good thing.

“It really reflects the immigration patterns that we have seen evolve over the past two or three decades that shift away from the European immigration and toward Asia and Latin America,” said Doug Norris, chief demographer at Environics Analytics.

“When I look at the globalized world that we live in, the fact that we ourselves are becoming more diverse and reflecting all of those languages is a real asset to us as a country today.

“I think it strengthens us as a nation as opposed to a country which was very singular in terms of its language or ethnicity.”

However, Norris said the change has consequences. Canadian companies hoping to sell their products and services to immigrants must increasingly communicate and advertise in many new languages.

Similar challenges now apply to governments – from school boards that must deal with young students coming from immigrant families, to public health authorities that provide services to new immigrants.

Statistics revealed that nine in 10 Canadians who spoke an immigrant language most often at home lived in a city. The majority (80 per cent) lived in the country’s six largest cities.

- In Toronto, 1.7 million people (32.4 per cent of the city’s total population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Chinese languages and Punjabi are most common.

- In Montreal, 626,045 people (16.5 per cent of the population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Arabic, Spanish and Italian are most common.

- In Vancouver, 711,515 people (31 per cent of the population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Chinese and Punjabi are most common.

- In Calgary, 227,515 people (18.9 per cent of the population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Punjabi, Tagalog and Chinese are most common.

- In Edmonton, 165,145 people (14.5 per cent of the population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Tagalog, Punjabi and Chinese are most common.

- In Ottawa-Gatineau, 140,675 people (11.5 per cent of the population) spoke an immigrant language most often at home. Arabic, Chinese and Spanish are most common.

In regards to worries about religion and potential violence: It may be difficult but we need to keep things in perspective.

I think much of the potential violence against “the West”, especially by “homegrown” terrorists will be helped by the fact that the U.S. is being forced to withdraw from the Middle East.

Going forward, people of these nations will have to look inwards to resolve the issues that they now face. These nations have finally become strong enough to lessen the burden American Imperialism (and previously British and French imperialism) brought to their lands in search of controlling access to the worldâs most valuable resource.

Now, they have social, economic, and religious issues that they are going to have to resolve themselves, and they will not be able to blame/scapegoat any other nation.

Another thing to remember is that resorting to terrorism is usually a desperation move by individuals who feel they have lost economic hope. Iâm not saying always, there are always exceptions to the rule, but it is usually poverty and marginalization that eventually drive these people to these extremes.

I wouldnât be surprised if their social condition hasnât driven them to what would be diagnosed in Western countries as depression, and their actions (and their belief in religion and their belief that they are fighting for justice, and the honour of their God) can be a dangerous mix.

I am a big fan of Steve Earle and I think you would enjoy these songs: (Rich Manâs War, City of Immigrants, Jerusalem)

In regards to language, like it or not, I believe that English is still going to be the language of the world. The reality is, the people of China, India, Europe, South America, Africa, The Middle East Russia, etc, are going to have to be able to communicate with one another, and I just donât see Mandarin (or French, German, Spanish) being the language of global communication.

In regards to keeping Canada intact, I am a Federalist, so I too want a strong Canada, from coast to coast to coast.

And in regards to your comments on dual citizenship, this is a difficult issue because the reality is, it is a nice-to-have option that can easily be abused. Unfortunately, that is also the case with anything that is implemented to provide a safety net (be it government provided, or work-provided benefits – i.e. sick days can also be abused – but that is a whole different can of worms).

I have posted comments on two other articles that I believe you might find interesting, so here are the links:

One last disclaimer: With facts that I may have not considered (errored in overlooking), or not been aware of, I could be proven wrong on any of the above issues, and if that is the case, I will gladly change my way of thinking. There is no way anyone can have all the âfactsâ.

These are just my thoughts, and they are up for discussion. All I am trying to do is to get people to think, and to talk about important issues (and not just how they did in the football pool, or how long before we have hockey again).

I have been fortunate to travel many times to india, china all over asia, and europe, i see now immigration the root problem of the EU, in being unable to sustain economy, and provide for citizens.
A friend in canada married philapina, 5 years of life, he gets house, 2 kids, seems happy, then one night, the door opens, and 9 of her family from manila, shows up, even 80 yr olds. He is forced to take them in, and since he was in union job, and no means of extra income, slowly his savings, rrsp all go. He was set up by this woman, he has lost his house in divorce, he lives now in basement suite, no job, and i heard he is a drug addict now, he wasnt before. And yes, the govt stepped in, to give money to these people, everyone got carecard, money evry month, etc. He is on welfare.
My great grandfather came here in 1887, he had some money and skills as engineer, built buildings.
If you come here, have some skills, cash, somethimg to offer.
When in india, i heard many times how lots of BAD indians come to canada as its easy to get in and start gangs and dope rings.
In mumbai the only gangs you see now are in bollywood movies.
Drak/ Dhru gangs arent born in canada, now major players, doesnt immigration check these monkeys?
My wife is mixed race, she has been subject to racism, and is disgusted with attitude of IMMIGRANTS in canada, they all expect a free lunch, somewhere, they were taught this is how it is in O Canada.

I could be wrong but your grammar does not come across as someone whose family has been in Canada since 1887.

The problems with EU immigration are also magnified by many factors. One being that immigrants are treated in every way (especially when it comes to economic opportunity) as second class citizens. So, that topic of discussion needs a lot more in the way of facts before it can be fairly discussed.

In regards to your friend, he may have been conned, but I think there are a lot of facts that even you may not be aware of in regards to this story because your friend would have had to fill out a lot of paperwork for 8 relatives to “just arrive” at his doorsteps (and be allowed to stay).

In regards to immigrants getting a free lunch, again, this is a result of policies implemented by the federal government (a Conservative government has done very little to change these rules). The Conservatives have changed the rules on a go-forward basis, but they could put the responsibility back on the shoulders of those that originally sponsored their relatives.

The reality is, I think the majority of “immigrants” who have made Canada their home hate the way the system is played by some.

In regards to Asian (minority) gangs, yes, they are a problem. But these gangs are small potatoes compared to organized crime. The Hell’s Angels and the Mafia (have you followed the stories on their involvement in Montreal construction and politics) are the exponentially larger players in the crime game than the two-bit Asian-gang players (two-bit in relation to the size of organized crime).

As someone in Law Enforcement, your comments on “two bit Asian gangs” is massively incorrect.

Also, the Asian gangs have absolutely no respect for the public and their arrogance in public shootings is far beyond what has seen before.

The Hells Angels and Mafia and other gangs carry out their dirty work usually in private, they do have a “code” and they usually do not like any publicity for many of their crimes.

For the average citizen, the Asian gangs are vastly more dangerous. They also immensely more expensive to investiage and prosecute (when people talk about the “benefit” of immigrant investment, I would suggest that is easily offset by the cost of the ‘bad apples’) and it hurts our international reputation as a safe city for tourism, and business.

In your law enforcement capacity, you may see more “unorganized” crime because the much larger component of this type of crime (the organized portion) is dealt with at a completely different level of law enforcement than what you do on a day-to-day basis.

So, just because you don’t see the damage the Hell’s Angels and the Mafia do, does not mean that Asian gangs are much more dangerous than the Hell’s Angels or the Mafia. The Hell’s Angels and the Mafia have, over time, moved up the food chain from being “unorganized” (carrying out their dirty work without “respect” and in public, to being “organized”, where they have actually meshed their criminal activities into the fabric of society.

I’m sure the long-term goal of the Asian gangs is to become more organized. Then they will show respect and take care of their business in private, but that does not mean that society will be safer because of it? No, in fact, that just means we get closer to having even more criminal organization trying to infiltrate organizations such as the police force itself, as well as government.

And the fact that you’ve got a government job, you may not feel that the immigrant investment program has been worthwhile, but the millions of people who are self-employed, and pay the taxes that pay your salary may feel differently in regards to how well the economy might be doing today had it not been for growth immigration has provided.

I’m not saying there aren’t problems. I just think that things are a lot more complex, and discussing these issues is good for all of us.

Communicating through messages like this is horrible in the sense that things that are said can be taken in completely the wrong way. So, in regards to my comments about having a government job, please don’t take that as a slight.

Policing is a needed service, and government is best suited to provide this service. Thank you for all that you do.

One last point. The number of innocent people killed by public shootings is still minimal (probably less than the number of people killed in police custody). The reality is, because it is on the news, it terrorizes people, whereas when organized crime takes care of their dirty business, does not have the same affect on the public, although the end result is the same (a bad guy kills another bad guy).

Are you able to tell me your role in law enforcement? Or is it something that must be kept under wraps for security reasons?

Have you been involved in directly investigating organized crime syndicates like the Hell’s Angels and the Mafia that is at work in Ontario and Quebec?

In regards to my being massively incorrect in comparing innocent bystandard deaths to in-custody deaths, this is just my impression. If you have numbers that show that I am way off base, I’d more than welcome getting the facts, because I want nothing more than to know the truth.

I know I don’t know the whole story when it comes to in-custody deaths, but do you know how many innocent bystandards have been killed by gang-related crime? The one incident that comes to mind is the Surrey Six. There was the girl that was killed at a bar in gastown I believe. And there may have been one or two more that I faintly recall.

Now, I could Google in-custody deaths, and I’m sure I would find just as many examples of in-custody deaths where the situation may have been complex, but the actions taken by law enforcement did result in a person’s death.

I’m not trying to persecute anyone. I’m just trying to put things into context.

In regards to innocent people hurt by these gangs. I’m sure the numbers are staggering. But, the activities they are involved in, there is no way that they are doing higher volumes of any of these types of businesses (drug smuggling, grow-ops, prostitution, gun smuggling, extortion) than organized crime is doing.

Really, just because I’m not on the “front-lines”, I can’t possibly know anything about these topics? If you believe that, than you must believe that we would be better off living in a police-state because only law enforcement knows what is really going on in that scary world out there (and they are all good guys only looking out for the uninformed public’s best interests.

A “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!” mentality by those in the “system” may be one of the biggest things society has to fear.

First of all, the only information you get is through the media. Some specifics are not reported because we ask it not to be reported for numerous reasons – other times it is not allowed to be reported due to legal reasons. Or the media does not have a story or issue to spin around it, or it is just not an attractive enough news piece. To assume you know the whole story through the media is rather ignorant.

The “actions” taken by law enforecment are not the only causes of in custody deaths. If someone dies of a drug overdose in our custody, it is considered as such, even if a constable doesn’t lay a finger on them. In fact, “excessive force” issues are the overwhelming minority. So wrong again.

Karma, the white European settlers took over Canada to oppress and suppress first nations people – now the reversed is happening with far too many ethnic cultures coming here instead of fair quotas of the world’s many nations. If we allowed 150,000/yr (far too many) 10% should be Asians, 10% White families from UK and Europe, 10% Usa, 10% Africans, 10% East Indians, 10% Middle East, 10% Russians, etc. instead of gross overepresentation of Asian nations or East Indians. We are not balancing the books in history, and like karma, what the Caucasian settlers did long ago will bite them in the buttocks which is now happening now as the white race is becoming the endangered visible minority. We still do not address the importance that any immigrant or refugee to speak one of our national languages before allowed into Canada. Far too many refugees sucking $28k/year off our backs and there is no end in sight while unemployed, retirees, seniors do not get that amount of crazy money.

Fools in government have been blind to our nations need to have fair and just quotas. Too many Asians, too many Persians and East Indians and not enough fair quotas from otherlands, its not rocket science! While the white race is limiting family size others go at it for big families and we wonder why our nation’s language landscape is endangered. Too many permitted in who cannot even speak, read or write one of our national languages and many drive cars and quite a few are involved in crimes, etc? This is not about racism, it is about responsible planning to ensure fairness and safeguarding our national languages that should be a priority qualification of any newcomer. I have seen deplorable behavior by several minority cultures who bring baggage from their homeland into our yard. This is Canada and we should respect its idealogies and belief and newcomers need to learn to adapt and go with the flow, that is not always the case and many do not make efforts to learn from Canadians or learn a new official language. We have wrongly shifted our immigration objectives to appease Pacific-Asian rim lands and seen a congestion of geographical areas saturated by them like Vancouver, nicknamed Hongcouver. Immigrants make this land stronger but we still have a long way to go…and reckless policies are hurting not helping this country.

One, that history has shown that within three generations, families have completely immersed into the culture and language of their new homeland. Third generation children born in Canada usually canât even speak their language sufficiently to speak to their grandparents in their âmotherâ tongue.

This wasnât a part of the story, but non-ethnic businesses (banks for example) provide services to people in languages other than English (or French) only because it is profitable to do so. This cannot be blamed on the non-English speaking immigrants. This is the âfree-marketâ talking.

Finally, if these immigrants are bringing
their wealth into Canada, that wealth will be spent in Canada, and eventually taxed in Canada. You can only avoid the taxman for so long. Yes, we can say this has resulted in skyrocketing house prices so that the locals cannot even afford to live in the city they were born, but this housing-price bubble is temporary. And, throughout the bubble years, this has created jobs, and profits for virtually every British Columbian (or Canadian), either directly or indirectly.

In regards to more French being taught. Both my daughters are in French immersion, so I’m doing my part in that respect.

But realisitically, it appears that English will be the language of the world. This will be the language that even the Chinese, Indians, Africans, South Americans, and Europeans will move towards as they look to improve communications with each other.

The reality is, the world is going to go through some trying times, but nobody is better prepared to get through this than Canada (and yes, the United States). The reality is, we are blessed with a very large, relatively unpopulated continent. That gives us a huge advantage in regards to natural resources on a per capita basis.

If you are interested, I also posted some comments you may find informative on two other stories:

Sukh – You are correct on several facts. However, many of those are backward looking. Ex. Yes, it has been shown that by the 3rd generation, immigrants are speaking english fully. However, as more and more immigrants come here that don’t speak English the need to speak English will diminish.

As is the case, most immigrants don’t know much about Canadian history. But if you look at Montreal in the 1950s compared to Montreal now, the language dynamic has changed dramatically. And why? Purely because the number of French speaking people has increased dramatically on the island of Montreal. English Quebecers gave vast language rights to francophones and what happened? French language in Montreal exploded.

There is absolutely nothing to say the same couldn’t happen in Vancouver. Some would argue it already is happening in Richmond.

As long as schools and post-secondary institutions continue to be taught in English, I think we will be okay.

You are right in the fact that first-generation immigrants are taking the easy way out because they don’t need to speak english to get by(which is human nature), but, I don’t think this affects the process their children and grandchildren go through. Worst case, maybe the process gets extended and it takes 4 generations, but I don’t think there is any way of stopping it.

Sukh – As an educated and informed Canadian, you must be aware of Bill 101? You do understand the cause of that? If so, I think it shoots down your “I don’t think there is any way of stopping [people speaking English}”

Please correct me if I’m wrong, but in regards to linguistic changes that have happened in Montreal and Bill 101, do both of these issues not relate to the fact that Canada was founded as a bilingual nation?

Are you afraid that other languages will get “official” language status in Canada?

I guess that is possible if Canada becomes dominated by people of Chinese and/or Indian decent, but that would take centuries, and during this “build up”, the Chinese and Indian families that would have been here for longer than say 40 years would already have been assimilated, and would no longer speak their “mother” tongue. So, to think they would vote to change the country’s official language to one that they don’t speak, well, that doesn’t seem likely.

And, in cities like San Diego, where Spanish is spoken, maybe even by the majority, that does not mean that it becomes the language of upward mobility. So, yes, people may choose to not speak english, but it will be at their own expense as economic opportunities will be significantly reduced for them by making this decision.

The reality is, we still need people to do jobs that other (educated) people don’t want to do, and by not learning english, people are making a horrible decision when it comes to their economic well-being.

The reality is, english is always going to be the language of the majority in the U.S., and Canada (excluding Quebec). It will also be the language of business and upward mobility, so people choose to not speak fluent english at their own expense.

Think of it the other way, those who choose not to learn to speak english are giving their english-speaking countryment a huge competitive advantage.

The point I was trying to make was that I don’t think any other language is going to replace English and French as the two official languages of this country.

You may disagree with that statement.

So, just a few questions for you:

1. Do you believe that English should be the only official language of Canada? That French should not be an official language?

2. Is your fear that, down the road, English is going to be replaced as the official (or unofficial) language of the country?

3. Do you fear that English will remain the official language of the country, but that we will become a nation of non-english speakers?

4. Do you believe that a language other than english will become the language of upper mobility in Canada? Meaning that , in the future, if someone living in Canada wants to improve their standard of living they will be better off to speak a language other than english as their language of choice for day-to-day communicatons?

Whatever language is going to give people the best opportunity to improve their standard of living for themselves and their families will be the language that dominates. I don’t see any language overtaking English when it comes to this reality.

Hey everyone is welcome as long as they assimiliate……….which of course many of the immigrants today have no desire to learn our languages. Not doing so means that this is not good for Canada in the short or long term. I hate to see what this country is going to be like in 20, 30 years.

Jhon and Pat Davo, I am an immigrant, came to Canada when I was 9 and only barely knew the English Alphabet. Am now fluent in English and can get by in French and am learning Spanish. I love languages and can easily learn them because I learned multiple languages as a child.

My children spoke their first two words in two different languages – English and Punjabi. I am an entrepreneur and employ close to 50 people with an average salary of 80K. India is not at war 24/7, in fact it has a lower murder rate per capita than Canada – learn some facts. It is country with a future far brighter than North American countries. We have been investing in the technology sector in India since 1994, right now more of our wealth is in India. Our payroll in Canada/US is in excess of $4 million – without taking in consideration the salary of the two principal shareholders – so that 80K average is going to a number of mixed races. The two principal shareholders are the only Punjabis working here. So I think I am contributing to the wealth of Canadians far more than the average Canadian. I have friends who are also immigrants and they also have lots of Canadian (non Indian) employees.
There is nothing wrong with children learning more than one language at home. In fact research shows that children who speak multiple languages prior to their teenage years activate more brain cells than those who only choose to learn one. I guess learning my third language by the time I was 10 has helped me.

Why “this ” picture, why not a picture of the Dutch or the English or the Spanish or the French…We are going to be at war 24/7 just like they are in their country..thanks to our mindless federal government

They are as Canadian as you are. One thing people like you should adapt is that the World, the Countries are not what they used to be. Canada badly needs immigrants and you have to accept the fact. And, what language an immigrant speaks is none of anyone’s business as long as they speak English (widely spoken) at workplace and get their message across. If not for Immigrants, you would still be paying 80% tax on your income. So, just suck it up and make efforts to be progressive and your life better. Blame games never worked in the past and the present/future will be no different. Canada is a democracy and everyone has a right to speak in whatever language while livbng peacefully.

And, by the way noone is at war 24/7 in their country. You need to travel and get out more. Wishing you well .

the only issue i have with this is the erosion of our country and our beliefs – as with multiculturism we also have two official languages – french and English – i feel threatend when one is being widdled down by immigration

and to say one is as candian as the other – i also have an issue with that – i dont understand why immigrants are allowed dual citizenship – ie two passports – pick one or the other – in other words to be canadian means to give up your right to citizenship in your other country – anf theere is a lot of terroism in these countries

You are believing in some economic myths that are purported in the immigrant community.

Immigration has had nothing to do with the decline of income tax. Not even close. You need to learn a little more about economics.

I don’t think an immigrant that steps off a plane is as Canadian as someone that has been here for generations and whose family members have died for this country. To think otherwise is incredibly arrogant – but of course that is what the immigrant community wants to believe!

Citizenship may be granted upon birth, or after two years for new immigrants, but it is earned daily, over a lifetime, through actions that make the country better for you having been blessed to have had the opportunity to live here (and this applies equally to those born here, and those who were accepted here from other lands).

Multiculturalism is a myth that has never worked and never will work !. There is a whole full scale corrupt immigration industry The incompetent government is quick to help out thousands of immigrant legal and illegal that has not put a nickle into our economy.Temporary Foreign Worker program is increasingly little more than a government-sanctioned way for big business to by-pass Canadian workers and substitute with cheap foreign labour The federal government needs to revoke the company’s Work Permit as the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) should never have been granted by HRSDC in the first place.I have a feeling our language law in Quebec would prevent this somewhat poor though out idea to scam .Glad i will be be dead before we smarten up and realize this experiment was a big mistake.